Buhari’s inner circle bypassed protocol despite official directives – Gambari

By Kunle Sanni –

Former Chief of Staff to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Gambari, has disclosed that members of the president’s inner circle often bypassed official protocol to gain direct access to him, despite clear directives to follow formal procedures.

Speaking on Inside Sources, a Channels Television programme, Gambari said Buhari had ordered that all memos be routed through the Chief of Staff’s office, but certain associates still used personal connections to reach the president informally.

“When I became Chief of Staff, the president clearly stated that all memos must pass through me,” Gambari said. “But some individuals knew how and when to reach him—during what I’d call his ‘weak moments’—and managed to get their documents to him.”

He added that while these backdoor efforts occurred, many of the memos eventually still ended up on his desk, giving him some measure of oversight.

“Even the vice president, to his credit, routed his memos through my office, as did several ministers,” he noted. “But the president’s close allies knew who to use and how to bypass the process. He never stopped them, but I usually still saw the documents.”

Gambari, who served from 2020 to 2023, also said the so-called “cabal” around Buhari was not necessarily a destructive force, but a natural feature of most administrations.

“Every government has a cabal—or what some might call a ‘kitchen cabinet’ or ‘think tank,’” he said. “It’s a group of trusted individuals, both inside and outside of government, who the president can confide in.”

He emphasized, however, that such informal channels should not be allowed to compromise institutional procedures or transparency.